What Is God’s Moral Alignment?

If you’re a working stiff like me, you will have seen a printout of the moral alignment chart tacked up in the break room somewhere, assuming your co-workers have a base level of humor. The printouts feature characters from a fictional universe (I refuse to use the word “fandom”) and the characters’ perceived alignment. If your co-workers are also law-abiding, tax-paying American citizens, they will write in their own alignment on the chart, but if they’re really fun they’ll write the alignment of other co-workers. Growing up after the heyday of Dungeons & Dragons you’d probably know the moral alignment from there…because that’s where it originated.

If you’re completely normal like me, you might wonder: “What’s God’s moral alignment?” I attempt at an answer below, but keep in mind a few things. The alignment presumes a predominant Western view of morality, whereas the God of the Bible is transcendent from moral frameworks and does not claim to be subject to any them. This fact, though, doesn’t necessarily mean He can’t fit into one alignment more than another. Also, I’m not here to “pigeonhole” God or take Him lightly, as though he were a mere NPC. You may come up with completely different results. This is just a fun intellectual exercise; don’t take it seriously.

It’s a tall order. On a surface level, I thought about God’s alignment by considering these angles:

1. What is “good” and “evil” according to what most people who would be playing Dungeons & Dragons (western or American people)?
2. What is “good” and “evil” as scripture proposes them? It is likely very different than the answer to #1.
3. What do we know of the person of God/Jesus from scripture?
4. How might God, as a divine person, act or be considered in a world like Dungeons & Dragons? This is the angle to which I gave the highest priority.
5. How might Jesus, as a human with a specific mission (like the Jesus in our universe), act or be considered in a world like Dungeons & Dragons?

There are a few versions of the moral alignment matrix, but I’m using the one from here: The Alignment System (easydamus.com).

Lawful Good, “Crusader”
A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished.

Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion.

Lawful good can be a dangerous alignment when it restricts freedom and criminalizes self-interest.

Analysis: Eh. Right of the bat in the first sentence, God probably wouldn’t fit here, since He often acts contrary to how some folks consider good. The Canaanite genocide is the biggie. Allowing tornados, cancer, and bronies to exist are another general argument against this. That God “restricts freedom” is a heavy philosophical topic, but there’s no way of knowing in what way He restricts our freedom, aside from personal revelation with how He deals with us on our individual level. If we want to get ontological about it, we could say He “restricts” us just by creating us as finite beings, but could there ever not be any restriction in a created thing?

Neutral Good, “Benefactor”
A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them.

Neutral good is the best alignment you can be because it means doing what is good without bias for or against order.

Neutral good can be a dangerous alignment when it advances mediocrity by limiting the actions of the truly capable.

Analysis: This one isn’t too bad. God helps people for sure; longsuffering is a good description. He’s not accountable to any human, definitely. But it’s abundantly clear He doesn’t help those in the way most folks want Him to, for good or ill. He always “does good” by His very nature, though, again, not according to many folks. He could be perceived as “advancing mediocrity” since He chose an historically disobedient and weak nation of people to carry out His plans.

Chaotic Good, “Rebel”
A chaotic good character acts as his conscience directs him with little regard for what others expect of him. He makes his own way, but he’s kind and benevolent. He believes in goodness and right but has little use for laws and regulations. He hates it when people try to intimidate others and tell them what to do. He follows his own moral compass, which, although good, may not agree with that of society.

Chaotic good is the best alignment you can be because it combines a good heart with a free spirit.

Chaotic good can be a dangerous alignment when it disrupts the order of society and punishes those who do well for themselves.

Analysis: Not too bad: God follows His “conscience,” is kind and benevolent, ignores laws and regulations, though it’s clear He’s into making covenants, both with humanity at large (the Noahide laws) and with the ancient Hebrews in particular. “Good heart with a free spirit”—sure, whatever. He’s definitely been known to disrupt societies and the well-off. This alignment might be a keeper.

Lawful Neutral, “Judge”
A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her. Order and organization are paramount to her. She may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or she may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government.

Lawful neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you are reliable and honorable without being a zealot.

Lawful neutral can be a dangerous alignment when it seeks to eliminate all freedom, choice, and diversity in society.

Analysis: This feels too restricting to describe God, whose grand purposes are mysterious, even to His own followers, and certainly to those who are watching from afar. If we’re talking about the kinds of governments that Lawful Neutrals might favor, and ones that might exist in Dungeons & Dragons (Western monarchies?), I’m going to say God’s not a huge fan. Next!

Neutral, “Undecided”
A neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. She doesn’t feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil-after all, she would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, she’s not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way.

Some neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run.

Neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion.

Neutral can be a dangerous alignment when it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.

Analysis: This one is hard because it describes just about everyone in general. It doesn’t feel specific enough to really judge. I’ll pass on this.

Chaotic Neutral, “Free Spirit”
A chaotic neutral character follows his whims. He is an individualist first and last. He values his own liberty but doesn’t strive to protect others’ freedom. He avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions. A chaotic neutral character does not intentionally disrupt organizations as part of a campaign of anarchy. To do so, he would have to be motivated either by good (and a desire to liberate others) or evil (and a desire to make those different from himself suffer). A chaotic neutral character may be unpredictable, but his behavior is not totally random. He is not as likely to jump off a bridge as to cross it.

Chaotic neutral is the best alignment you can be because it represents true freedom from both society’s restrictions and a do-gooder’s zeal.

Chaotic neutral can be a dangerous alignment when it seeks to eliminate all authority, harmony, and order in society.

Analysis: I want to rule this one out, outright, if Chaotic Neutrals can be motivated by “good” or “evil,” but then I rethought it. God is motivated by whatever He desires at the time, and that can appear good or evil, depending on the observer. He’s definitely unpredictable and can do some strange things. Restrictions and authority don’t have an effect on Him, but he challenges traditions regularly. This alignment can be considered fairly accurate, but there are other ones that are closer to the mark so far.

Lawful Evil, “Dominator”
A lawful evil villain methodically takes what he wants within the limits of his code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts. He cares about tradition, loyalty, and order but not about freedom, dignity, or life. He plays by the rules but without mercy or compassion. He is comfortable in a hierarchy and would like to rule, but is willing to serve. He condemns others not according to their actions but according to race, religion, homeland, or social rank. He is loath to break laws or promises.

This reluctance comes partly from his nature and partly because he depends on order to protect himself from those who oppose him on moral grounds. Some lawful evil villains have particular taboos, such as not killing in cold blood (but having underlings do it) or not letting children come to harm (if it can be helped). They imagine that these compunctions put them above unprincipled villains.

Some lawful evil people and creatures commit themselves to evil with a zeal like that of a crusader committed to good. Beyond being willing to hurt others for their own ends, they take pleasure in spreading evil as an end unto itself. They may also see doing evil as part of a duty to an evil deity or master.

Lawful evil is sometimes called “diabolical,” because devils are the epitome of lawful evil.

Lawful evil creatures consider their alignment to be the best because it combines honor with a dedicated self-interest.

Lawful evil is the most dangerous alignment because it represents methodical, intentional, and frequently successful evil.

Analysis: This almost feels the most accurate, but it’s worded so negatively that it’s hard for me to commit to it. God is definitely self-interested, but He also has a tender spot for those who align (make a covenant or a commitment) to Him. He hurts, or allows to be hurt, folks for His own ends, but it could also be said that He gives blessings to those, for whatever reason, to others for His own ends…blessings to those who may not recognize them as such. Along those lines, it also feels that God’s pattern of condemnation can be random, if we’re talking about “condemnation” in the secularized sense.

Starting to think here that God is skewing heavily towards the the chaotic side of alignments.

Neutral Evil, “Malefactor”
A neutral evil villain does whatever she can get away with. She is out for herself, pure and simple. She sheds no tears for those she kills, whether for profit, sport, or convenience. She has no love of order and holds no illusion that following laws, traditions, or codes would make her any better or more noble. On the other hand, she doesn’t have the restless nature or love of conflict that a chaotic evil villain has.

Some neutral evil villains hold up evil as an ideal, committing evil for its own sake. Most often, such villains are devoted to evil deities or secret societies.

Neutral evil beings consider their alignment to be the best because they can advance themselves without regard for others.

Neutral evil is the most dangerous alignment because it represents pure evil without honor and without variation.

Analysis: This doesn’t feel like it applies to God, even just a little of the time. God pursues His own interests, for sure, but the alignments now are heading into “doing evil just because” territory. Even if you’re not a fan of God, it’s clear that He at least is materially benevolent to some people, some of the time.

Chaotic Evil, “Destroyer”
A chaotic evil character does whatever his greed, hatred, and lust for destruction drive him to do. He is hot-tempered, vicious, arbitrarily violent, and unpredictable. If he is simply out for whatever he can get, he is ruthless and brutal. If he is committed to the spread of evil and chaos, he is even worse. Thankfully, his plans are haphazard, and any groups he joins or forms are poorly organized. Typically, chaotic evil people can be made to work together only by force, and their leader lasts only as long as he can thwart attempts to topple or assassinate him.

Chaotic evil is sometimes called “demonic” because demons are the epitome of chaotic evil.

Chaotic evil beings believe their alignment is the best because it combines self-interest and pure freedom.

Chaotic evil is the most dangerous alignment because it represents the destruction not only of beauty and life but also of the order on which beauty and life depend.

Analysis: Nah. The only thing here that really describes God is “arbitrarily violent,” and even with that it’s a little incomplete. Oftentimes violence will arrive with plenty of warnings. Very seldom would it fall unannounced, but it’s been known to happen, though that doesn’t necessarily imply that it’s for no reason. The reason is simply undisclosed or unfathomable.

FINAL VERDICT: God is aligned with Chaotic Good. After reading them all again and considering the implications, I narrowed it down to Chaotic Good and Lawful Evil. They almost seem like two expressions of the same character, but there are traits of a Lawful Evil persona that don’t fit with what we know of God. What’s described for Chaotic Goods is pretty close and doesn’t speak against anything God is…though there is definitely more to God than that description.